XP mode? You may need a new PC

Sam Varghese
Saturday, 09 May 2009 04:52

Opinion and Analysis

And if truth be told, the number of applications which used to run on XP and now do not run on Windows 7 is legion.

Even Microsoft's own applications, like Movie Maker - version 2.6 has been hastily released and runs on Windows 7 - have some obvious lacunae. Whereas the earlier versions, which ran on XP, could be used to capture video from analogue devices, on Windows 7 you can do so only from digital devices.

But here again the user has options. Pay some company to convert all your analogue video into digital files. Then return to the modern Movie Maker. No money? Tough luck.

Or else, throw out all those precious memories and useful reference material you have on tape. Unprepared to do this? Tough luck.

There are some applications which install on Windows 7 but then refuse to run. And there are still others which install and run - but one cannot open the help files because the format has been changed in Windows 7.

Windows 7 runs much faster and with less problems than Vista . But this again, I fear, is a mirage. I ran a packet sniffer and noticed that the degree of snooping that goes on is much less in Windows 7.

What does this mean? Has Microsoft changed its ways? No, it seems obvious that the full Digital Rights (or, to give it its correct name, Restrictions) Management package will come only with the version of Windows 7 that you buy. Why should such a delightful addendum be provided free - even though it will certainly slow things down a lot?

There's at least one more thing for which Windows 7 users will have to shell out money. And that's a new hard drive.

Given the frequency of disk access on Windows 7 - the hard drive LED is on most of the time your PC is running - I fear that this would mean a much reduced life for the drive in question.

But as Microsoft puts it, your PC has now been simplified. Let me quote: "You told us what you want in a PC. We listened. And made hundreds of little improvements and a few big ones that add up to a whole lot less. Less waiting, fewer clicks, and less complexity. With less of what you don’t need, Windows 7 helps you do more. More work, more play, and more of everything in between. Making every task simpler and every day easier."

And the blurb adds: "See for yourself - get the Release Candidate." It probably would have been better to say, "just believe us."